--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I apologize for being obvious, but every…" description: "\"I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play I feel a little s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png" --- # I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the… ![“I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play I feel a little sorrowful that I'll never know the man, or any man of such warm intelligence.” quote by Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png) > “I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play I feel a little sorrowful that I'll never know the man, or any man of such warm intelligence.” [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments the loss of insight into Shakespeare's mind, feeling that the performance only hints at the playwright's profound intellect. **In simple terms:** Regret over missing deeper understanding of Shakespeare. Key Takeaway Art reveals but never fully conveys an artist's inner genius. Themes nostalgia literary appreciation humility epistemic limitation Mood melancholy reflective Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - watching a play - studying literature - discussing theater - reflecting on artistic legacy Key Concepts theatrical experience authorial intent cultural loss Practical Applications - enhancing audience engagement - informing educational curricula Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to truly know an artist? - How can we bridge the gap between performance and creator? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) [Feel Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-little/) [Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Production Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/production-shakespeare-709146/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespeare play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-play/) [Sorrowful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrowful/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Warm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warm/) ## Related quotes > [When I was 15 years old, I saw my first production of a Shakespeare play at the British pavilion at the Century of Progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wanamaker/when-i-was-15-years-old-i-saw-my-first-production-of-a-shakespeare/) [Sam Wanamaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-wanamaker/) > [As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing than act. There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-keel/as-long-as-i-can-sing-halfway-decent-i-d-rather-sing-than-act-there-s/) [Howard Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-keel/) > [But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/but-even-creeps-deserve-to-live-someplace-halfway-decent/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [I was a halfway-decent-looking English boy who looked nice in a drawing-room standing by a piano.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lawford/i-was-a-halfway-decent-looking-english-boy-who-looked-nice-in-a/) [Peter Lawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lawford/) > [I saw a Shakespeare play when I was - I guess I was in junior high. And I just fell in love with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/i-saw-a-shakespeare-play-when-i-was-i-guess-i-was-in-junior-high-and/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [It was a wonderful experience to live the life for a year; to spend all day doing Shakespeare and then do a play in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-daniels/it-was-a-wonderful-experience-to-live-the-life-for-a-year-to-spend/) [Phil Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-daniels/) > [I'd love to tackle a classic Shakespeare play or take on Nora Helmer in 'A Doll's House.' Musical theater, it's the classics like Rodgers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-behrs/i-d-love-to-tackle-a-classic-shakespeare-play-or-take-on-nora-helmer/) [Beth Behrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-behrs/) > [Nature listening stood, whilst Shakespeare play'd And wonder'd at the work herself had made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-churchill/nature-listening-stood-whilst-shakespeare-play-d-and-wonder-d-at-the/) [Charles Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-churchill/) > [The greatest crime in a Shakespeare play is to murder the king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/the-greatest-crime-in-a-shakespeare-play-is-to-murder-the-king/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > [I started out in the theater, and my background is classical. I'd love to be in a film version of a Shakespeare play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-smits/i-started-out-in-the-theater-and-my-background-is-classical-i-d-love/) [Jimmy Smits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-smits/) > [All the great Shakespeare plays are about killing. 'Alas, poor Yorick,' that's about death. And in 'Romeo and Juliet' everyone up ends up dying.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/all-the-great-shakespeare-plays-are-about-killing-alas-poor-yorick/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [When I was 19, I took a train from Houston to New York, and I had in my lap the collected works of William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/when-i-was-19-i-took-a-train-from-houston-to-new-york-and-i-had-in-my/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [Whether it is the cavemen in the caves thousands of years ago, Shakespeare plays, television, movies and books, stories and characters take us on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-burnett/whether-it-is-the-cavemen-in-the-caves-thousands-of-years-ago/) [Mark Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-burnett/) > [A lot of people have a fear of Shakespeare. Even actors do. People are like, "Oh, I won't go and see Shakespeare because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-weaving/a-lot-of-people-have-a-fear-of-shakespeare-even-actors-do-people-are/) [Hugo Weaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-weaving/) > [People assume that I'm very highly trained, that I studied and did years and years of Shakespeare. I have no training whatsoever and I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/people-assume-that-i-m-very-highly-trained-that-i-studied-and-did/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) ## More by Ian Mcewan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“These thoughts were as familiar to her, and as comforting, as the precise configuration of her knees, their matching but competing, symmetrical and reversible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/these-thoughts-were-as-familiar-to-her-and-as-comforting-as-the/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian Mcewan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More Decent quotes > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [As long as I can sing halfway decent, I'd rather sing than act. There's nothing like being in good voice, feeling good, having good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-keel/as-long-as-i-can-sing-halfway-decent-i-d-rather-sing-than-act-there-s/) [Howard Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-keel/) > [You weren't a decent man and you didn't do your best. We none of us were and none of us did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-weren-t-a-decent-man-and-you-didn-t-do-your-best-we-none-of-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes the challenge of beating the jet lag and getting a decent sleep can be as hard to solve as finding the right setup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-grosjean/sometimes-the-challenge-of-beating-the-jet-lag-and-getting-a-decent/) [Romain Grosjean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-grosjean/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Music and the arts feed our souls, but a decent wage puts food on the table. Musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/music-and-the-arts-feed-our-souls-but-a-decent-wage-puts-food-on-the/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [The 'key-log' which must be moved to release the evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit thinking about decent land-use as solely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/land-ethic/the-key-log-which-must-be-moved-to-release-the-evolutionary-process/) [Land ethic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/land-ethic/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Every New Yorker spends a certain amount of nervous energy thinking, "How can I afford to stay here? What do I have to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-zukin/every-new-yorker-spends-a-certain-amount-of-nervous-energy-thinking/) [Sharon Zukin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-zukin/) > [It is something that most parents hope for in life: That their children will be moderately successful, polite, decent human beings. Anything on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/it-is-something-that-most-parents-hope-for-in-life-that-their/) [Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [takes a devil to make a decent angel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-spanbauer/takes-a-devil-to-make-a-decent-angel/) [Tom Spanbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-spanbauer/) > [I guess the only thing to do now is meet his parents. I'm sure they're decent people. I mean they gotta be if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-guess-the-only-thing-to-do-now-is-meet-his-parents-i-m-sure-they-re/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) [Browse all 1,392 Decent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play I feel a little sorrowful that I'll never know the man, or any man of such warm intelligence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Mcewan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/ian-mcewan-494_decent_i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every_80313.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent…” — Ian Mcewan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ian Mcewan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I apologize for being obvious, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```